


Good Girl

by WeirdyMcWeirderton



Series: Avery Series [13]
Category: Leverage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:41:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29969994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdyMcWeirderton/pseuds/WeirdyMcWeirderton
Summary: Avery is going on a school trip and Eliot's actually letting her after everything with Gleeson. Unfortunately, Spencer's are a magnet for trouble.
Series: Avery Series [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/120231
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

“You all ready?” Eliot asks Avery after she sets her carry on bag on the the floor next to her suitcase.

“Yeah,” Avery replies with a nod and glancing over to meet her dad’s gaze.

They had moved to Portland for her Senior year, much to Avery’s annoyance. There was nothing worse than trying to make friends your last year of high school. She never complained though; they had to   
for everyone in the team’s safety.

Now, Avery is preparing to go on her Senior class trip. She wasn’t going to go but Sophie insisted, saying she’ll regret it if she didn’t. Avery can tell her dad is worried; he didn’t have to say it. It is in the   
way his shoulders tense and his jaw clenched. The way he keeps running his hand through his hair and glancing at the luggage bags. After everything with Gleeson last year, Avery’s dad had become   
more careful with her than usual. It’s not as if she blames him though.

“Wait! I have something for you,” Sophie calls out before sifting through her giant purse. She pulls out an envelope and hands it to Avery and fixes her with a firm look. “Don’t open it till after you leave.”

Avery raises an eyebrow at her but slips the envelope into her carry on bag. Suddenly, Avery is crashed into by something that forces the air out of her lungs. Arms are wrapped tightly around her before   
Avery realizes what is happening. Avery returns the hug with a smirk.

“I’m only going to England Parker,” Avery assures with a snort and a shake of her head. Avery’s class was lucky, they had wanted to go to England and worked hard at raising the money to do so.

“But that’s all the way across the world,” Parker whines in Avery’s ear as she squeezes Avery tighter. Sophie and Hardison smile while Nate shakes his head and Eliot rolls his eyes. Avery gently pushes   
Parker away and Parker reluctantly allows her to.

“I’ll be fine Parker. I’ll talk to you guys every day,” Avery assures the thief and gives her a reassuring smile. Actually, her dad had made her promise to contact them every day so he knew she was fine and   
alive.

“You better,” Parker says with a stern look that causes Avery to smile wider.

“Alright, come on Ave,” Eliot says as he picks up Avery’s suitcase. Avery says bye to the rest of the team and gives them each a hug. She grabs her carry on bag and her and Eliot exit the house with Eliot   
shouting at the team to lock up when they leave his home.

LEVERAGE

“Do me a favor and stay out of trouble okay?” Eliot says as he looks over at Avery with a firm look after they finish checking her bags.

“I always stay out of trouble,” Avery replies with a smirk and a roll of her eyes which causes Eliot to scowl.

“Call if anything happens,” Eliot orders as he fixes Avery with another firm look.

“Dad, relax. Nothing’s going to happen,” Avery says as she grins and shakes her head. She moves in and gives her dad a hug which Eliot happily returns. 

“Stop being so paranoid,” Avery says into her dad’s chest and wraps her arms around her dad slightly tighter.

“I think I have a right to be,” Eliot replies before he pulls away and fixes Avery with a look. Avery sighs but knows her dad is right.

“I’ll call you when we land,” Avery assures before giving her dad another hug and walking over to meet her class. 

LEVERAGE

Avery sits in her seat on the plane and pulls out the envelope Sophie had given her. After opening it up, Avery pulls out a letter and a card. Avery unfolds the letter and begins to read it.

Avery,

Not that I expect it to happen, but in case you get into trouble and the law enforcement is involved, I have enclosed a little something for you. It is a card with a number of one of my contacts on it.   
Just give it to the police and you’ll be fine. Good luck and have fun!

Sophie

Avery folds the letter back up and looks at the card. There is a long number on it and by the looks of it, it’s a British number. Avery smirks and puts the card and the letter is back in the envelope and the   
envelope into her bag. That was the team, always looking out for her. No doubt Nate had Hardison put a tracker in her sneaker or something and Hardison sent the link to everyone on the team. Avery   
snorts and shakes her head; so much for being free from everyone.

LEVERAGE

Avery follows her group down the streets of London. Feeling someone watching her, Avery stifles the urge to shudder. She had this feeling yesterday and has continued to have this feeling since then.   
She has only been in England for three days so she can’t understand why someone would be watching her so intently. Avery looks around her, expecting to find nothing as it always seemed to be the   
case. Instead, she notices two men across the street looking directly at her. Upon noticing her gaze on them, the two men quickly look away. Avery narrows her eyes at them and studies their   
appearance. Every little detail she can pick up and store away in her brain will be helpful.

One seemed to be late thirties with short, brown hair. He has large muscles as if he’s on a strict weight lifting regiment. He seems to be aware of his surroundings and continues to keep an eye on them.   
The other guy looks to be mid-twenties with long, dark brown hair, almost black, that’s pulled back into a pony-tail. He has muscles but they are only really visible if the man flexes in some way.

“Avery,” a young girl with sandy-blond hair says as she approaches. Avery looks away from the men and over at her classmate.

“Hey Gianna,” Avery says with a smile.

“You coming?” Gianna says with a nod towards the group further ahead of them. Avery looks ahead and sees she has fallen far behind.

“Yeah,” Avery says with a nod and she quickly follows Gianna to the rest of the group.

LEVERAGE

Avery sits on the grass eating her lunch with Gianna sitting next to her. She glances around her at the park around them before taking another bite. She had seen the two men two more times today and   
she is thoroughly on edge.

“What’s going on with you? You’ve been on edge all morning,” Gianna says as she watches Avery with a furrow of her brow.

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling,” Avery replies with a shake of her head and a look in Gianna’s direction. “I keep seeing these two guys.”

Gianna looks around them for any two guys together. With a sigh, Avery does the same. It was hard for Avery switching schools her Senior year but she and Gianna had hit it off almost instantly.   
Gianna’s dad was in the Marines and had retired five years ago. The two girls were able to bond over this and Avery was glad to know someone else was taught what she was and still is. 

“What do they look like?” Gianna asks as she continues to casually look around at the crowd. Avery describes the two men but neither of the girls can find them anywhere. Avery assumes this is a good   
thing but wishes she could at least get a picture of them. A gut feeling has her believing the two men meant trouble. As much as she hates it, she knows she needs to send word to her dad. No sense in   
taking risks; if it turn out to be nothing then so be it, but if it is something then at least her dad knows about it and the team can help.

LEVERAGE

Lance and Tony watch as Avery throws her lunch out and rejoins the group. They are hiding behind a large tree, knowing they have already been spotted twice. They had seen Avery yesterday at one of   
the tourist attractions and had instantly recognized her from pictures shown to them back when they had worked for Gleeson. They had almost got caught by the cops but had managed to escape just in   
time. It was all Spencer and his team’s fault. They were Hitters themselves and knew Spencer and his work and there was definitely raw feelings between the three of them even before the whole Gleeson   
job. Now, they want revenge; And what better revenge than to go after Spencer’s kid.

LEVERAGE

Avery sighs as she walks into the hotel with her group. She hadn’t felt she was being watched after lunch and neither her or Gianna had seen the two guys the rest of the day. Gianna walks over to her   
and the two of them walk up to their room.

“Maybe it was just coincidence…” Gianna tries as they walk down the hall and she glances over at Avery.

“I doubt it. Not with what my father does,” Avery says quietly with a shake of her head and a purse of her lips. She had told Gianna the basics of what the Leverage team does and Gianna had been   
impressed at the whole operation.

The two girls turn the corner and walk over to their room. Avery reaches the door first and stops abruptly. The door is partly ajar and she and Gianna instantly share a look. Avery slowly pushes the door   
open and the girls walk inside. The room is empty but there are clothes and items strewn throughout the floor.

“We should tell Mrs. Graham,” Gianna says with wide eyes roaming the room. Avery nods her head in agreement and the two of them swiftly move out of the room. 

“You go ahead. I’m going to grab something real fast,” Avery suddenly announces as they exit the room.

“Okay,” Gianna says slowly as she gives Avery a curious look. Avery disappears back into the room while Gianna goes to find their teacher. This morning, Avery had forgotten to take card Sophie had   
given her back out of the envelope and she was kicking herself for it. She unzips her carry on bag and takes the envelope out of a secret pocket. Avery takes the card out and puts it in her back pocket   
before placing the envelope back in the secret pocket before walking back out of the room. She shuts the door behind her and turns to head in the direction she had seen Gianna go.

Avery freezes when she notices the two men she had seen numerous times that day standing halfway down the hall. They meet each other’s gaze for a moment before they scowl and charge towards her.   
Avery’s eyes widen before she turns and runs down the hall in the other direction. She turns the corner and rushes to the door at the end of the hall and crashes through it, her hands smashing the push   
bar in.

Avery is in the stairwell and she runs over to the stairs going down. She jumps onto the railing and slides down it on her butt to the next landing. She runs to the next set of stairs and does the same   
thing as well as every one after. She can hear the two guys running down the stairs but is able to gain distance between them every time she slides down another railing.

Once Avery reaches the first floor, she rushes through the door. She runs down the hallway and out the back door of the building. Running down the street, she makes a few turns in the hope of loosing   
the two men. Avery runs down the street she’s on and glances behind her. She doesn’t see them but when she looks back ahead of her, she runs into someone. Avery falls to the ground and the man   
grumbles. Quickly mumbling a ‘sorry’ and looking behind her, she sees the two men round the corner and stop as they search for her. Immediately, Avery crawls between two cars just as a cab stops in   
front of her and a couple climbs out of it. A woman moves towards the cab but Avery swiftly crawls inside it and shuts the door. 

“Just drive,” Avery says breathlessly to the driver as she glances down the street where the two men are still searching for her. The driver nods his head and pulls into traffic as Avery crouches low so as   
not to be seen. She pulls out her phone and quickly dials her father’s number.


	2. Chapter 2

Eliot is sitting on the couch watching the game when his phone begins ringing. He pulls it out and looks down to see it’s Avery calling him. After answering the call, Eliot puts the phone to his ear.

“Thought you weren’t going to call until tonight?” Eliot asks with a smirk as he keeps his eyes on the TV screen.

“Dad, these guys are chasing me,” Avery’s breathless voice says hurriedly through the phone.

“What? Who?” Eliot asks as he instantly stands up and his body tenses. He’s immediately in father mode and he glances at the rest of the team. They all heard the tone in Eliot’s voice change and are now   
watching him carefully.

“I don’t know, but they seem like they know what they’re doing. Like they’ve had some sort of training,” Avery quickly explains as her breath begins to come back. 

“Where are you now?” Eliot asks into the phone as he moves towards where Hardison has just sat in front of his computer.

“In a cab. In London. I lost them for now,” Avery explains while looking out the back window of the cab. Eliot sighs but his body is still tense and worry still flooding his eyes. Eliot looks down at   
Hardison and sees his fingers flying over his keyboard.

“Hardison…” Eliot begins and Hardison is already pulling up a map of England on to his computer screen.

“Where?” Hardison asks, not taking his eyes off the screen and sharing it to the television screen for everyone to see.

“London,” Eliot replies with the phone still held to his ear. Hardison types furiously into the computer for a few moments before the map of England zooms in to a map of London. A red dot appears on   
the screen and is moving slowly along the street. Nate had Hardison implant a tracking device in Avery’s phone and sneakers; Hardison is finding himself very glad they did. His fingers fly over the   
keyboard as more tabs are opening on his screen.

“Hardison,” Nate says as he, Sophie and Parker join Eliot and Hardison at the table.

“Already booked five tickets to London. Our plane leaves in two hours,” Hardison says as he presses a button on his computer before shutting it down. The team look down at their phones and see the   
tracking system is broadcasting on their screens.

“Let’s go steal us an Avery,” Nate says before walking out the door with the team hot on his heels.

“Ave, we’re coming. I’m going to call Quinn. See if he’s nearby. Just… stay out of sight,” Eliot says urgently into the phone and he feels his jaw clench back up.

“Okay,” Avery replies with a nod of her head and the call is disconnected. Eliot dials Quinn’s number and waits for him to answer.

“What?” the blond Hitter barks into his phone.

“Avery’s in trouble. You anywhere near England?” Eliot says hastily over the line completely skipping any and all pleasantries. He knows not to beat around the bush and he knows that Quinn will help if   
it’s Avery that needs it.

“I’m in Germany. I can be there in a couple hours, tops,” Quinn replies as Eliot hears the man already moving around. “Where is she?” 

“London,” Eliot replies as he runs a hand through his hair.

“I got a friend there she can hole up with until I get there,” Quinn continues and Eliot hears a door shut in the background. “I’ll give her a call. Give her a heads up.” 

Quinn quickly gives Eliot the address before the two Hitters hang up their phones. Eliot calls Avery back and relays the address to her before telling her to go there and that Quinn will meet her in a few   
hours. They hang up the phone and Eliot sighs in frustration. He realizes he never explained what was going on to the rest of the team and he takes the opportunity to do so now. 

LEVERAGE

Avery looks out the window as the cab pulls up to a Bed and Breakfast. She quickly hands the driver some money before exiting the vehicle. Hearing the cab drive off, she takes in the building in front of   
her. With a glance at the street around her, Avery finally opens the door and enters the Bed and Breakfast. A bell tinkles overhead to announce her arrival. A woman in her mid-forties and slightly graying   
hair emerges from a back room. She sees Avery and gives her a smile. The woman glances behind Avery and her smile falters before looking back at Avery. Avery’s hair is amiss and a tenseness is   
evident throughout her body. Her eyes watch the woman closely.

“Can I help you?” the woman asks with a furrow of her brow even as she’s already sure Avery is the girl Quinn called her about.

“Um… a… friend… told me to come here…” Avery explains before biting her cheek, not sure how much to give away.

“You’re the girl Quinn called about,” the woman acknowledges with a nod of her head and another glance at the door behind Avery. Avery nods her head in confirmation and sighs in relief. The woman   
walks over to Avery and rests a hand on her shoulder which is no longer tense. “Follow me. My name’s Amanda.”

The woman leads Avery up a flight of stairs and Avery follows after her. Avery picks up on the fact that Amanda doesn’t have a British accent and is, in fact, American. Avery looks around her as they   
climb to the third floor and takes in everything she can. It’s here Avery remembers Amanda had given her, her name. 

“My name’s Avery,” Avery introduces herself as Amanda opens a door and leads her inside.

“I wish we could’ve met on better circumstances,” Amanda says truthfully as she turns to face Avery and gives her a sympathetic smile. “You can stay in this room until Quinn gets here. Would you like   
something to eat? Drink?”

“Um… yes, please,” Avery replies with a smile before looking around the room.

“I’ll bring up some food from dinner,” Amanda says with another smile before walking out the door.

LEVERAGE

Avery sets the dirty dishes in the sink downstairs. It felt weird allowing Amanda to wait on her so as soon as she was done eating Avery brought her dishes down to Amanda. Avery turns the water on and   
prepares to wash the dishes but Amanda’s voice stops her.

“Don’t worry about. I’ll do it,” Amanda says with a wave of her hand as she walks over to the sink.

“I can do them. Really,” Avery argues as she looks over at Amanda and catches her eye. Amanda waves her off again and swiftly begins washing Avery’s dishes. Avery watches her for a moment before   
asking what she’s been wanting to.

“How do you know Quinn?” Avery asks, looking up at Amanda’s face. Amanda smiles but doesn’t answer right away. Avery waits patiently for her to answer.

“He’s my younger brother,” Amanda finally answers, causing Avery’s eyes to widen and her eyebrows to arch.

“I didn’t know…” Avery begins with a shake of her head but stops herself. Amanda finishes the dishes and turns the water off. 

“Few people do,” Amanda replies with a glance at Avery before grabbing a towel and drying her hands off. She looks out the window. “Quinn should be her…” 

Amanda drops off as she stares out the window at something. Avery furrows her eyebrows and moves to see what has Amanda’s attention but Amanda immediately stops her. Avery gives her a curious   
look and Amanda throws the towel on the counter before shoving Avery towards the stairs.

“What’s wrong?” Avery asks as she walks up the stairs and allows Amanda to usher her into the room.

“There are two men outside and they don’t look friendly. If it comes to it there is a trellis outside your window,” Amanda says as she points to one of the windows before leaving the room and shutting the   
door behind her.

Avery can’t understand how the two guys found her; she was far ahead of them. Not that it mattered now. They have found her and Avery will more than likely have to make another run for it. The tinkle   
of the bell above the door has Avery turning her attention to the door to her room. She slowly and quietly walks over to it and places her ear against it. Voices are heard and she can just make them out.   
Suddenly, Avery’s eyes grow wide and she hastily backs away from the door. 

LEVERAGE

Lance and Tony walk up to the Bed and Breakfast. It is getting late and they know the girl will have to find some place to stay for the night. Ever since they lost her, they began searching every inn, hotel,   
and Bed and Breakfast they knew and came across. The two men walk in to the entryway of the building and see a woman behind a desk.

“Can I help you?” Amanda asks with a smile as the two men walk through the door.

“We’re looking for a girl. About seventeen, with brown hair and blue eyes. About yeah tall,” Tony says, holding his hand out at Avery’s height. Amanda makes like she’s thinking but then shakes her   
head.

“No, I’m sorry. Is she lost?” Amanda replies with a furrow of her brow and worry lacing her tone.

“It’s my niece. We got into an argument and she took off on us. Now we can’t find her,” Tony explains with a grimace. Amanda forces a smile.

“I’m sorry. I’ll keep an eye out for her,” she replies, wanting to get rid of these guys as fast as she can.

“I think we’ll just take a look around,” Lance suddenly announces, his tone leaving no room for argument. Lance and Tony walk determinedly past Amanda and over to the stairs. Amanda curses under   
her breath and quickly follows after them.

LEVERAGE

“Can’t this plane move any faster?” Eliot growls as he glares in front of him. Sophie and Nate sigh. Eliot had been irritable and impatient since Avery’s call; and he had every right to be. It doesn’t make   
it any more fun to deal with though. 

“The plane can only go so fast Eliot,” Nate replies calmly after running a hand through his hair. “Even if we’re in a hurry.”

Eliot looks over at Nate and sends his glare towards the team leader. Nate sighs and focuses his attention back in front of him. With a glance at Nate and a reassuring pat on his arm, Sophie takes a turn. She looks over at Eliot and sends him a reassuring smile.

“We’ll get there in time. And Quinn was heading there too right?” Sophie tries with a raise of her brow and keeping her gaze on Eliot. Eliot grumbles but doesn’t actually say anything. He slumps down in   
his seat and crosses his arms as death glares shoot at everyone and everything around him.

LEVERAGE

Avery’s eyes widen as she hears boots ascending the stairs. Her heartbeat picks up and she quietly shuffles further backwards before turning and hurrying over to the window. She opens it up and peers   
outside it, looking on either side of the window and seeing the trellis to her left. It is a long way down and Avery takes a couple deep breaths to steady her nerves. The boots are getting closer and Avery   
glances behind her before climbing out the window and over to the trellis. She forces herself to not look down and tries to control her breathing. Why does it have to be heights? Avery thinks to herself.   
Avery hears the boots just outside the door and she quickly descends the trellis as fast as she can. When she gets near the bottom, she hears a shout and she looks up to see the short-haired guy looking   
down at her with a scowl. Avery looks below her and sees she’s only a short distance from the ground. She jumps off the trellis and lands on her feet, going to a crouch to limit the impact.

Avery stands up and takes off at a sprint down the street. Knowing the thugs will be running after her, Avery doesn’t slow down. Avery skids around a corner and continues running at full speed down the   
alley. As she passes an indent in the building, a pair of arms reach out and grab her, yanking her into the building through the open door.


	3. Chapter 3

Avery immediately attacks whoever has grabbed her. She elbows him and a grunt is heard escaping her opponent. Turning, Avery throws a punch which is blocked. She throws a punch with her other hand but it’s blocked as well. 

“Hey, hey, hey. Relax Xena, it’s me,” a familiar male voice says and Avery stops fighting. She looks at the person in front of her and realizes who it is. 

“Quinn?” Avery asks with a furrow of her brow and relief running through her body. There are hurried footsteps echoing in the air and Avery and Quinn glance at the opening of the alleyway.

“We need to go,” Quinn says and he pulls out a pair of keys and hands them to Avery. “Go to the other end of the alley and turn right onto the street. My car’s there.”

“What? Where are you going?” Avery asks with wide eyes watches Quinn peek around the corner.

“I’ll be right behind you. I’m just going to slow them down a little,” Quinn replies before giving Avery a light push in the other direction. Avery scowls but runs through the alley as per the instructions.

When she gets to the end of it, Avery turns right and hits the unlock button on the keys. A car about 100 yards down the street blinks its lights and Avery runs over to it. She climbs in the passenger side   
and shuts the door behind her. Putting the key in to the ignition, Avery starts the car. Leaning back in her seat, Avery keeps her eyes glued to the alley entrance. She doesn’t have to wait long when   
Quinn jogs out onto the sidewalk and over to the car. He opens the door and climbs in before shutting the door behind him.

“Let’s get you back to your dad,” Quinn says and he and Avery put their seat belts on before Quinn pulls onto the street and squeals away.

They don’t make it far when sirens are heard behind them and Quinn mutters a curse word and smacks his hand on the steering wheel. Avery looks behind them through the back window and sees a cop   
car chasing after them. Glancing over at Quinn, she sees him pull off to the side of the road. The cop car pulls in behind them and shortly after, the cop walks over to their car. Quinn rolls the window   
down and looks up at the cop, giving him a grin.

“Officer,” he acknowledges with a head nod.

“Do you know how fast you were going?” the officer says as he glances in the passenger seat at Avery.

“To tell you the truth officer I was in a hurry and wasn’t even paying attention,” Quinn says with a shake of his head and an sheepish smile. The officer glances between Avery and Quinn and studies them   
for a moment. Avery knows they need to get back to her dad and as soon as possible and if the officer runs Quinn’s license she’s sure they’ll be in more trouble than they already are. She pulls out the   
card Sophie gave her and holds it out to the officer.

“Officer,” she says with an innocent smile. The cop looks at the card and looks at Avery warily before taking it. He looks down at it and sees the number on it. With one more glance at Avery, the officer   
walks back to his car.

“What was that?” Quinn asks with a look over at Avery and a furrow of his brow.

“Our ticket out of this,” Avery replies with a smirk and a glance over at Quinn. A few minutes later, the officer walks back to their car and hands the card back to Avery.

“You two have a nice day,” he says with a tip of his hat and a smile. The officer walks away and climbs into his car. Quinn quickly pulls back onto the road and drives off, careful not to speed this time.

LEVERAGE

Avery and Quinn look up when they hear footsteps and a door close. Quinn had taken them to an old building before calling Eliot to give him directions. Avery smirks from her spot where she’s sitting on   
the floor. Her father was not happy about where they were holed up, but at least she was safe.

Quinn stands up and motions Avery to hide which she answers with a scowl. Avery looks around as Quinn flattens himself against the wall by the door to their room. She sees a pipe lying on the ground   
and picks it up, twirling it in a circle a couple times. Quinn looks over to make sure she’s out of sight and rolls his eyes when he sees the weapon in her hands. With a smirk aimed at Quinn, Avery hides   
around the corner. As the first person enters the room, Quinn moves to attack but stops abruptly when he sees it’s Eliot and the rest of the team.

“Where is she?” Eliot asks as he looks around the room. Quinn nods his head towards the corner and Eliot turns his attention to it. Avery walks out from behind it with the pipe still in her hand. Eliot   
notices it and raises an eyebrow.

“What were you planning on doing with that?” he asks with a nod at the pipe and a smirk playing on his lips.

“Whatever I had to,” Avery replies with a smirk of her own. A snort escapes from Eliot and he looks her over, making sure she’s okay.

“Why don’t you get her out of here Spencer. I’ll take care of this,” Quinn says with a genuine look at Eliot, causing everyone to look at Quinn in surprise.

“You’ll take care of it,” Eliot says with a raised brow and a curious look at the hitter.

“Yeah. You already owe me. What’s one more favor?” Quinn replies with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. Eliot scowls but doesn’t respond.

“Come on Ave. Let’s go home,” Eliot says with a wave of his hand. Avery gives Quinn a ‘thank you’ smile and walks over to her dad. Eliot wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a side-  
hug and guides her out of the room. The rest of the team follows after them.

LEVERAGE

The team is all back at headquarters and Nate and Sophie are sitting at the counter talking in low voices. Hardison is playing World of Warcraft on his computer. Parker is sitting in an armchair   
absentmindedly picking a lock, locking it, and then re-picking it again. Eliot is sitting on the couch with his feet on the table. His arm is around Avery who is sprawled out on the couch, her head lying on   
a pillow on Eliot’s leg, fast asleep.

Eliot’s phone rings and he quickly answers it before it wakes up Avery. Eliot puts the phone to his ear and says a few words, the conversation short, before hanging up. Setting the phone on the end table   
next to him, Eliot slumps back into the couch. Nate, Sophie, Parker, and Hardison are watching him closely. 

“Was that Quinn?” Avery asks when her father doesn’t seem to explain what the call was about. Eliot looks down to see her watching him.

“Yeah,” Eliot answers with a nod before leaning his head back against the couch.

“And?” Nate asks with raised brows as everyone continues to watch the Hitter.

“It’s taken care of,” Eliot replies with a look down at his daughter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Parker asks with a weird expression on her face. She glances over at Hardison who shakes his head and looks back over at Eliot.

“Don’t ask a question you don’t want to know the answer to Parker. This is Quinn. He’s not me,” Eliot answers with a glance at the thief. Parker nods her head and looks away.

“But it’s over right?” Hardison asks with a furrow of his brow.

“Yeah, Hardison. It’s over,” Eliot replies with a sigh and a nod of his head before he squeezes Avery’s shoulder gently.

Quinn’s way isn’t what Eliot would do nowadays, but he isn’t complaining. At least they won’t have to worry about these guys again. Eliot doesn’t need to know exactly what was done; just that it was   
done. On the other hand, Eliot isn’t looking forward to completing the growing list of favors he owes Quinn.


End file.
